Southern Dental up for sale for third time
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- Published: Wednesday, 04 January 2017 07:37
- Written by News Editor
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An unconfirmed report from Sky News says that Southern Dental boss, Dr Mazdak Eyrumlu has hired DC Advisory to oversee the third attempt to sell his company since 2014. The company is the third biggest provider of NHS dental services abd is valued by the owner at up to £100million.
The news comes as investors and turnaround firms including Haymarket Financial and Endless buy chunks of Southern Dental's estimated £65m debt in an attempt to position themselves ahead of the possibility of a distressed sale. Some insiders believe the company is worth no more than £70m, meaning the shares would have little value in the event of a solvent sale.
News of the latest process has emerged just weeks after Oasis Healthcare, Southern Dental's larger rival, was bought by Bupa, the medical conglomerate, for £835m - a much higher price than expected. In March this year, Dr Eyrumlu appointed Catalyst Corporate Finance, another advisory firm, to handle an auction of Southern Dental, but that process fizzled out. Two years ago, Dr Eyrumlu abandoned a previous sale plan and opted instead for a refinancing which was said to have yielded a £20m dividend payout.
Based in Crawley, West Sussex, Southern Dental is the biggest NHS dental services group in southeast England, with 80 practices and more than 750,000 patients. In its accounts for the year to 31 March 2015, Southern Dental said it had continued to grow through a combination of organic expansion and acquisitions "despite a challenging economic environment. Our overall revenue mix of 74% NHS and 26% private has enabled us to grow our NHS commitment and at the same time maintain and grow our private income," the company said.
Sky News reports also that a number of the UK's biggest dentistry providers have attracted private investment over the last decade, including Oasis Healthcare, which was backed by the investment firm Bridgepoint before its recent sale, and its larger rival MyDentist, which is owned by Carlyle. However Southern Dental could not be reached for comment before the Christmas break.
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